Dem Party in tatters as it is needed most

While the conservatives were strategizing on how to take over the Republican party and created a mission and strategy to get everyone march to the same tune, the Democratic institutions were fragmenting and stripped of any connection with their base. With the diminishment of the unions as an organizing, activist force, the party became more of fundraising arm and more enthralled with big money donors whose interests were often more inline with the business interests rather than the interests of the little guy. As Confessore points out, that the business interests gave money to the Democrats was totally dependent on the Democrats being in power. Today, there is no reason for the business interests to donate to the Democrats and now that funding source has dried up. What survives now is a shell of a mighty party which is starting to realize their situation. (Unfortunately for us, this couldn't come at a worse time as the need to break the conservative control on the levers of power is critical if we are to have a future that works for the majority of Americans.)

What can be done? Confessore believes that the Dean movement is an answer to revitalize the Democratic party. As all the old institutional strength has withered away, the Dean campaign has found new ways to revitalize and reengage people. Despite the drying up of the old donor base, they've tapped a new one based on hundreds of thousands of individuals. And although many of those donors are from the professional class, there are thousands of members of the working class as well as the unemployed or barely employed who are also giving to the Dean campaign. This year it will no longer be true that the Republicans raise more from small donors than the Democrats, which was certainly the case in 2000.

The Dean campaign is not only raising funds from new sources, but also providing energy and coordinated action that leads to a long term committed and active base that can be the basis of revitalizing the Democratic party. As Joshua Bassett, one of dKos' posters, said, the Dean campaign is not just trying to elect their guy, they are building a community.

Other progressives have not been waiting for the Democratic party to lead, but have been actively organizing to make a real stand against the Republican juggernaut. Moveon.org was one of the first to really harness the power of the internet to rally support. Their effectiveness can be seen in the attacks they have drawn from the RNC. Moveon has harnessed the energy of millions of small donors and although they are yet to show their clout in getting voters to the polls this year, during the lead-up to the war last year, they effectively rallied millions of their supporters in the anti-war rallies and the candle light vigils.

The passion and energy pouring into the 2004 campaign is a welcome sign, but it is essential that these groups find ways to complement and reinforce each other. An effective Democratic party can help make this happen.

From the new group blog - The American Street